Herd Management

Pholia’s Philosophy

Our first premise regarding herd management is that there is no one single best approach. What works for one herd may not fit the life and beliefs of another. We know that there is so much left to learn and much of it will be painful and difficult. We are constantly trying to balance the realities of having a commercial dairy with the desire to treat each animal like a friend. Throughout the pages nested under this heading you will hear about all of the things we do and so many things that have gone wrong.

How we Define Humane

Animals are never sent to auction for slaughter. Older does are either kept or placed in screened pet homes. Male babies not sold as breeding/show stock are neutered and adopted out to pet homes, please note, we are not against eating meat and if we could not place them in homes that we believed would be for their best, then they would be respectfully harvested for meat here on our farm.

Anesthesia and Pain control are used when performing painful procedures such as dehorning, castration, or tattooing.

Midwifery-does in labor are given individual attention during their labor and delivery. As per our above outlined kid rearing, does are allowed to nurse and clean their kids (unless special circumstances prevail). Separation from the mom’s is done slowly and with the least amount of stress possible.

Mental Stimulation– Goats go on a daily (weather permitting) hike to browse, exercise, and have fun.